Inspiration from Dreams

Silver bubbles

Glinting with light

Float on the fluid edge

Where water and air meet

Held by the liquescence of water

That enfolds me deeper in its embrace

My lungs instinctively gasp for air

And my arms reach for that permeable edge

As my feet paddle for a foothold

Fear mingles with enchantment

As I sink and reach upward

In this magical entrapment

And now in my dreams

I am submerged in water again

Struggling to reach the air and the light

Sinking

The glinting of the silver bubbles receding

But in the moment of inevitable surrender

I suddenly can breathe underwater

And I am not alone (SDV)

Untitled © Michael Jastremski / Attribution-ShareAlike / 2007-07-23 12:26:48

Our dreams are inspirational gifts from the subconscious – a source of creative ideas, and creative thinking.

For at least two months, whenever you remember a dream (or a nightmare, which was my inspiration for the poem), do something creative with it, without analysing symbols and psychological meaning.

You will need an A4 notebook and some colour pens. Keep it by your bedside. When you wake up, if you remember a dream or part of a dream, on a new page in your notebook, write the day and date and everything you can remember about the dream.

During the day, write down any ideas that surface about the dream in your creativity notebook. Sometimes you will need to do this for more than a day for an idea of how to express that dream in concrete form to emerge. Once it does, write a poem or draw a picture or a cartoon or a diagram about the dream. Perhaps, though, your dream will want to find expression in another way ‑ invite friends around for a creative dinner party, or dress in a different way, or redecorate a part of your home, or plan something adventurous for your next holiday …

If no ideas spontaneously emerge on how you can creatively express your dream, try writing about it with your non-dominant hand, and then set it aside. You may find that your dreams are creative inspiration from day one, or you may need to do this for a month or two. However, keeping this kind of dream journal will help you access intuitive creative ideas.

  

© SD Vahl, 2012
SD Vahl hereby asserts her right to be identified as the author of this work.

All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Suppressors of Personal Creativity

All the works of man have their origin in creative fantasy. What right have we then to depreciate imagination. (Carl Jung)

http://www.freepik.com/free-photo/splash--children--creativity--images_457423.htm

We recognise and acknowledge and reward creativity, in all fields of endeavour, from art to science to business, and yet many people suppress their personal creativity. Why?

Self-consciousness is what stops you from getting up and dancing when the beat of the music has your feet tapping. The censor is that analytical voice that stops the free flow of ideas or the judgemental voice that says your ideas are not good enough. Risk versus security gives you the dilemma of exposing yourself to loss – what if you your family, friends or community don’t like you being ‘different’, and worst of all what if you really want to be a poet, a writer, an artist, a dancer, a musician, an inventor and you risk your source of income by following your dream?

Conformity, safety, security, acceptance and so on are the many motivations for allowing self-consciousness and the censor to suppress our creativity. To discover and explore your creativity, you need to leave behind self-consciousness and the censor. There is no one judging and evaluating your work except yourself so how much fun you have and how rewarding the process is for you is entirely in your hands.

Practise your creativity behind closed doors and make a promise to yourself that when you do, you will be completely uninhibited. You will discover your joy and your creative self. Set aside 15 minutes each day to experience your joy in this way, just for you, with no one watching or judging you. Then look into the mirror and say to yourself: 'I am so happy to be me, a creative, unique individual'. Allow the joy of expressing your creativity into your daily life and build self-confidence at the same time.

© SD Vahl, 2012

SD Vahl hereby asserts her right to be identified as the author of this work.

All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.